Silverstein – Misery Made Me
Release Date: 6th May 2022
Label: UNFD
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Genre: Post-Hardcore, Emo, Metal, Rock.
FFO: Underoath, Saosin, The Used.
Review By: Ross Bowie
In 2003 Canadian youngsters Silverstein burst onto the scene with their debut album When Broken Is Easily Fixed and jumped to the front of the emo hype-train in 2005 with the release of their anthems My Heroine and Smile In Your Sleep. Now almost twenty years on from their big break, Silverstein have managed to keep churning out songs that quickly become set-list staples and are on a run that see’s their last three albums being some of the bands most popular to date.
Misery Made Me opens like a band that still have a lot of gas in the tank, the pace is there to grab your attention right away. At this stage in their career, you know what you’re going to get from a Silverstein release, you’re just hoping for a few stand out tracks to top up the live show. Misery Made Me isn’t as consistent as the band’s last two efforts, but has moments of genuine quality that will keep their fans hair combed firmly over their eyes.
Ultraviolet was the first stand-out track with its catchy lead lines before bursting into a chorus that will immediately get stuck in your head, a trick that later day Silverstein have mastered. You’re not waiting long before It’s Over comes roaring out the speakers and delivers all the flavours you would want from an emo anthem. Guitarist Paul Rousseau doesn’t hold back on riffs across the album, but It’s Over is the moment that he really goes for it.
However, the album isn’t all fast-paced and fist bumping party bangers. Like most bands with a large American fan-base, you’re met with the classic “Radio Rock” songs, the kind of music to eat a hot dog and talk about wrestling too. This is where the album starts to coast, as every time the band inject some pace and life into the record it needs to stop and appeal to the festival deck chair crowd. Songs like Cold Blood and Don’t Wait Up don’t offer any new ideas and despite being easy to sing along too, they derail the vibrancy and overall fun of the album.
Silverstein don’t sound like a band who will disappear quietly, and if they can turn up every couple of years with a handful of emo sing-alongs then who can blame them? While bands they grew up with constantly chase trends and become parodies of their former selves, they stick true to their sound and that should be applauded.
(3.5 / 5)
